What to send a filmmaker before the shoot

The smoothest shoots are decided weeks before anyone arrives. Here is what actually helps a crew — and it is less than you would think.

A film crew does not need everything. It needs a clear goal, a sense of the property’s best angles, and a few logistics sorted. Almost every delay on a shoot traces back to a gap in one of those three.

1. The goal, in a sentence

Is this for the website, for social, for in-room screens, or a campaign? A film made for a homepage is paced differently from one made for a phone. Tell the crew where it will live before they design the story.

2. What to highlight — and what to avoid

The room or villa categories that sell, the restaurants worth featuring, the signature experiences. Just as useful: what to avoid — a wing under renovation, a tired corner, a space that is always busy. Saving a crew from a bad shot is as helpful as pointing them to a good one.

3. Brand materials, if you have them

Logo files in the right format, any photography or video guidelines, and where the logo should sit. If you are part of a group with a standard, send it early — it shapes the grade and the end card more than anything else.

4. Access and timing

Who can let the crew into spaces, the quiet windows to film around service, and whether a drone or any restricted area needs permission. Golden hour is short; knowing which terrace faces the sunset can save a whole day.

5. People

Can staff appear naturally — a receptionist, a waiter, a chef plating? Are real guests possible, or should models be arranged? This is usually the difference between a film that feels alive and one that feels empty.

What you do not need to send

A shot list — that is our job. A script, or a hundred reference videos. One or two references that capture the feeling you want are worth more than twenty that do not.

Get those five things down and the shoot mostly runs itself. We turn them into a treatment and a shot list before we arrive, which is why the calm ones feel calm. If it helps, we keep a short brief that asks for exactly this, so nothing slips: start a project brief →